


just coasting 'til we met

by helloearthlings



Category: King Falls AM (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Anniversary, Cutesy, Dating, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Friendship/Love, M/M, Mindless Fluff, Presents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-13 13:16:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18032423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helloearthlings/pseuds/helloearthlings
Summary: Jack gets Sammy monthly anniversary presents. Sammy pretends not to be endeared. Ben has no such qualms.





	just coasting 'til we met

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I'm alive and still exist! I just finished writing a massively stressful article for work, and I don't think I wrote any fic while I was dying writing that. But it's over, it's published (!!!), so here I am. I miss writing fic a lot, but my schedule doesn't allow for a lot of it. 
> 
> This is basically just mindless fluff, but I have a list of plot-heavy things I'm gonna try to write here coming up. (....Hopefully.) Hope you enjoy this deeply fluffy AU, though!

**1.**

“I’ll get it!” Ben practically screeches from his room when their buzzer goes off.

“You absolutely will not,” Sammy calls to him, cracking his neck as he sits up from the couch, his phone lighting up with Jack’s message in the corner of his eye. _Hey I’m here_ _😊_ _😊_

Sammy moves across the room to buzz Jack up, and Ben appears in the doorway from the hall, black hair sticking up from all angles like he’s Harry Potter. His askew glasses complete the picture, though Sammy’s certain Daniel Radcliffe never had the patented Ben Arnold Pout.  

“I just wanna say hi,” Ben says in his best approximation of a baby voice.

“You can say hi,” Sammy says because he’s magnanimous like that. “And then you can go back to your room.”

“Where are you going tonight?” Ben asks, his voice a mix of his usual sourpuss impression that he gets when Sammy does things without him, but also his new smugness about Sammy having a boyfriend that he goes on dates with.

“Some horror movie? I don’t know, it was Jack’s turn to pick,” Sammy says and Ben’s smugness just _radiates_ off of him now. His expression is somewhere between a smirk and a terrifying beam.

“You don’t like horror movies,” Ben says in a sing-song voice. “So you _must_ like Jack an awful lot.”

“Shut up,” Sammy advises as there’s a knock at the door, and he opens it with a warning glance at Ben to be on his best behavior.

“Hey,” Jack grins at him in that dopey, dreamy way of his. He’s more dressed up than Sammy, a nice clean pressed blue button down that matches his eyes. He also has his hands behind his back. “How’s it going?”

“Good,” Sammy says, trying not to give himself away and blind Jack with the smile threatening to burst out of him. He has to have some deniability here. “What are you hiding?”

“I’m sorry in advance,” Jack says, and Sammy frowns, not sure where he could be going with this, “but I passed a chocolate shop on the way here. And we’ve been dating for a month as of tomorrow, so – happy anniversary, I guess?”

Jack passes him a little heart-shaped container with multi-colored sweet tarts adorning the plastic rim. Sammy smiles at the idea of Jack thinking of him, but it’s the pink staining Jack’s cheeks that makes Sammy’s stomach swoop.  

“That’s the cutest thing _ever_ ,” Ben says from behind him. Sammy turns to give him a look. “What? It is! Hi Jack!”

“Hi, Ben,” Jack leans past Sammy to smile at Ben, all genuine. Jack likes Ben, and Ben likes Jack, too. It’s somewhat shocking, since Ben has never liked any guy Sammy’s dated in the history of ever, and the feeling tends to be mutual. “I’m glad you appreciate it.”

“I appreciate it too, you just haven’t given me the chance to express that!” Sammy resists the urge to pout himself as Jack laughs at him. “It’s cute, Jack. It’s cliched as hell, but very cute. I probably won’t eat them since they taste like chalk and break your teeth –”

“I’ll eat them,” Ben’s next to him a second later, and makes grabby hands. Sammy steps on his foot and Jack giggles, hand over his mouth. Sammy’s glad Jack likes Ben, but he knows it’s more than that. Jack finds Ben _endearing_ which is just all kinds of trouble.

A really nice, good kind of trouble. Not that Sammy will admit that to Ben.  

“You will not!” Sammy tells Ben as he cocoons the little heart with his hands into his chest as Ben tries to poke at them. “Thief!”

“What are you gonna do, put them on your bookshelf and stare dreamily?”

“Maybe!” Sammy hisses, and then blushes when he notices Jack’s smile on him get softer.

“You guys are adorable,” Jack says.

“No, we’re not,” Sammy says and Ben goes “Aww, thanks! You’re adorable, too.”

“Do you want to come to the movies with us? We’re gonna see –” Jack starts with all the genuineness in the world. Ben lights up, and Sammy can’t even force himself to groan or make a snarky comment, he’s overwhelmed with affection for both of them.

“Yes!” Ben says before Jack can even finish. “Absolutely!”

“Fine, invite yourself on my date,” Sammy half-grumbles, but he knows that Ben isn’t fooled.

Jack’s look at him is wide-eyed and a little guilty, which is all the more endearing. “It would just be fun to do something altogether, but if you want –”

“Well, it’s our one-month anniversary, which if I remember right from the lists, one month isn’t diamonds, it’s inviting your best friend along for your date,” Sammy says, going for teasing, though his heart thumps harder at the idea of anniversaries as a concept, of anniversaries that have to do with him and Jack continuing into the future. “Besides, monthly anniversaries are stupid anyway.”

“Does that mean you’re not gonna stare dreamily at my sweet tarts as a reminder of my affections?” Jack’s laugh lights up his face, lines creasing next to his eyes. Sammy melts, just a little.

Ben melts too, if the overjoyed beaming smile on his face is anything to go by.

“It’s cute,” Sammy reasserts so as not to make this moment as sappy as he feels. “That’s all!”

“I’ll get you a candy you actually like next month, how about that?” Jack says and Ben scoffs.

“Good luck with that! He’s made me throw out all of my Snickers bars –”

“I’ll buy you Snickers at the movie, how about that?” Sammy gives in, and Ben practically screeches with joy because he’s secretly a tropical bird. Jack smiles at Sammy fondly and makes Sammy’s stomach flip flop.

Whatever. Monthly anniversaries are still stupid, and it’s only because it’s a gift from Jack that Sammy puts the heart-shaped tin case on the desk next to his bed.

He doesn’t stare at it that much.

**2.**

“There are flowers on our kitchen table.”

“Yeah. So?” Sammy blinks up at Ben from where he’s curled up with his book in the armchair next to the window. He’s just made tea, he hopes Ben’s hoppy enthusiasm from the kitchen as he points at the flowers isn’t going to mean that he has to get up.

“They’re in a vase! I didn’t know we had a vase.”

“I went to get a vase,” Sammy says, and Ben puts a hand over his heart.

“That means they’re from Jack!”

“Genius deduction on your part, Sherlock,” Sammy snipes, turning back to his book so that Ben can’t see his face heat up.

“Jack’s so sweet,” Ben says. “You’ve never dated anyone this sweet before.”

“You just like that he talks about Mothman with you,” Sammy says, and knows that the look Ben is giving him is expectant even if Sammy refuses to give him the satisfaction of looking up from his book again. “….And yes. He’s very sweet.”

Ben coos.

Sammy throws his book across the room, and Ben doesn’t even have to step out of the way, Sammy’s aim is so bad.

Sammy takes very careful care of the flowers until they’re too wilted to justify keeping around anymore. Even then he’s hesitant to throw them away and makes Ben do it instead. Ben coos even more, but Sammy’s getting used to the mockery.

This is the first time someone’s ever gotten him flowers – he’s allowed to enjoy that. Even if it is cliché and stupid, which it obviously is.

**3.**

Sammy opens the passenger side door to Jack’s car and there’s a teddy bear in the front seat.

It’s golden, big enough that Jack strapped it in with a seatbelt but not so big that it had been visible from the window. There’s a blue ribbon around its neck, and its fur is velvety soft to the touch.

“Happy three months!” Jack beams as he gets in the driver’s seat. Sammy unbuckles the bear, making sure Jack can see him roll his eyes. He knows that the front won’t last for long and can’t help but laugh when he sees Jack raising his eyebrows when Sammy settles into the car with the bear in his lap.

“Does he have a name?” Sammy asks and Jack nods.

“Honey Sprinkles, and she’s a girl,” Jack says very seriously, and Sammy giggles. “Don’t mock her! It’s on her tag! The toy store was very specific!”

“You’re ridiculous,” Sammy tells Jack and hugs the bear to his chest in order to make Jack go _aww,_ bright blue eyes widening with affection. “Happy three months, weirdo. I still can’t remember the fucking date, or I’d get you something equally as weird –”

“It’s the twelfth, and this is my thing!” Jack says. “It’s fun. Ben’s been texting me ideas.”

“Of course he has,” Sammy says. “He’s gonna steal Honey Sprinkles from my room, I can already feel it.”

“Well, if I stay over tonight you won’t need to worry about having a teddy bear to cuddle,” Jack says and Sammy snorts.

“Are you saying you’re my teddy bear?”

“No, because then I wouldn’t have gotten you one!”

“ _Baby let me be your lovin’ teddy bear_ ,” Sammy wiggles the bear in Jack’s face. Jack fruitlessly attempts to swat it away. _“Put a chain around my neck and lead me anywhere_ ….”

Jack finally sweeps the bear and Sammy’s arms aside, and leans across the console to kiss him, messy and awkward with Sammy still holding the bear on the other side of Jack’s head. They only keep it up for a few seconds before they break away at the same time, giggling uncontrollably.  

Sammy leans up to kiss him again once his arms are in a more comfortable position, wondering how on earth he got to the point of having a boyfriend to make out with in a parked car in a garage like they’re in high school.

He feels a bit like he’s floating, and luckier than he can fathom.

“What if we don’t go out tonight?” Sammy suggests when they break apart. “Because as it turns out, I _do_ have a three-month anniversary present in mind…”

Jack groans into Sammy’s neck, but there’s a laugh hidden in there, too.

“Just don’t let Honey Sprinkles see.”

Honey Sprinkles does _not_ see, but she tends to sleep in Sammy’s bed when Jack doesn’t stay over. Ben is under strict orders that he can’t steal her. Sammy’s sure he’s planning to anyway – teddy bears were made for Ben.

**4.**

Jack knocks on the window to the recording booth about an hour before the show’s over. Ben looks all too smug as he gestures to Sammy’s headphones.

Sammy holds one hand up to Jack, mouthing _five minutes._ Jack nods.

“Folks, we’re gonna take a quick pause for the cause, but we’ll be back in a few,” Ben interrupts and Sammy gives him a look.

“O master of the schedule, what’s with the break?” Sammy asks as if he doesn’t know the answer.

“Dude, it’s the _twelfth_ ,” Ben says and Sammy groans. Ben always knows these things, somehow. “He didn’t come over last night because of his work event thing, so I bet he’s bringing you a present!”

“Or like, a sandwich, I haven’t eaten since this morning,” Sammy grumbles, but gets up from his desk anyway and lets himself into the hallway between the recording booth and the rest of the studio.

“Hey,” Jack leans forward and pecks Sammy on the cheek. It’s the middle of the night, Ben’s the only one here, but Sammy still shrinks in just a little. Jack notices and pulls back, but Sammy quickly takes his hand and squeezes to say that it’s okay. “I was just gonna wait for you back at your apartment, but I thought maybe you could use some company for the last segment?”

“I’d love that,” Sammy says, knowing that Ben’s gonna love that even more. It makes him feel helplessly fond. “Is it my present?”

“Your _present_?” Jack has an equally fond, but twice as teasing look on his face. “What makes you think you’re getting a present?”

“Because you’re a sap, that’s why,” Sammy says, lightly nudging Jack’s foot with his own. “It doesn’t have to be you coming in studio. It could be a sandwich. I’m so fucking hungry, you have no idea.”

“It can be a sandwich, I’ll run and get you a sandwich right now,” Jack says, gesturing to the door as he steps backward and Sammy catches his hand in his own before he can pull away any further.

“No, no, what was it gonna be?” Sammy asks but Jack’s hand slips out of Sammy’s grip.

“Back in a few!” Jack calls over his shoulder and Sammy gives him the finger as he leaves to disguise the emotion threatening to burst out of his chest.

“He’s getting me a sandwich,” Sammy says when he recovers and returns to the booth. Ben shoots him a questioning look.

“He didn’t give you that cute little keychain?” Ben asks, creases appearing on his forehead. “I found it on Etsy! It was adorable and had these little kitties on it, you know, because you’re a cat person –”

“ _You_ picked out my anniversary present?” Sammy groans loudly and overdramatically, making Ben swat at him.

“Jack and I were hanging out and I just happened to get a notification for it because it’s similar to my past purchases!” Ben tries to justify himself.

“Your past purchases of those stupid succulent fridge magnets and all of your sparkly t-shirts?” Sammy says and Ben kicks him under the table.

“You could say thank you!”

“Well, he hasn’t actually given it to me!” Sammy argues. “Besides, I think I’ll like the sandwich more.”

The sandwich is a tuna melt. It’s Sammy’s favorite, and you have to go across King Falls from the station to get the one he likes.

The keychain is extremely stupid, with little orange cat faces and _meow!_ quote bubbles on a bright blue background.

Sammy takes it with him everywhere.

**5.**

“This one was absolutely Ben’s idea,” Sammy says when Jack presents him with the bath bombs upon Sammy’s arrival at his apartment.  

“It was half my idea,” Jack says, an embarrassed flush rising on his face. “I mean, Ben was talking about how you sometimes don’t take very good care of yourself and –”

“I do a decent job!” Sammy justifies, hunching his shoulders together. He withdraws from Jack slightly until Jack reaches out to touch his elbow, and then he leans back in. “Well. I’ve been doing a decent job since I met you.”

“That’s sweet,” Jack says, his hand absentmindedly running down Sammy’s forearm. “I just thought – I don’t know, you might be more apt to relax and do something nice for yourself if we did it together.”

“I would,” Sammy allows with only a bit of a sulky expression. “Maybe. This still reeks of Ben.”

“He thinks bath bombs are magical fairy inventions,” Jack nods very seriously and Sammy cracks a grin. “C’mon. It’ll be fun.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever taken a bath with anyone before,” Sammy feels a little awkward about admitting. “That’s just – I don’t know – really intimate? And I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’m not exactly, uh, super comfortable with intimacy…”

“You’re not giving yourself enough credit,” Jack says, which Sammy doesn’t expect. His voice is very soft, and so is his hand on Sammy’s wrist. “We’ve only been together five months and you’ve kissed me in a public place. I – I’ve never been in that place in a relationship ever, until now. So we’re trying out this intimacy thing together, okay?”

“Okay,” Sammy clears his throat, nodding, trying not to choke on all the emotion that’s threatening to spill out. “That’s – you’re – I mean, I want to do better for you. You’re the best boyfriend I’ve ever had.”

“Backatcha,” Jack says, and steps forward to press his lips against Sammy’s forehead, chaste but long. Sammy leans into the touch, his breathing more than a little shaky. “So in the spirit of that – what kind of bath bomb do you want to try? My personal favorite was _Sex Bomb,_ but...”

Sammy giggles, helplessly endeared by his stupid boyfriend, who's currently wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “That’s one way to say happy anniversary, I guess.”

**6.**

“Oh my God, I’m _so sorry!_ ”

“You’re not sorry!” Sammy hides his face in Jack’s neck as Ben stumbles over another apology or six. Jack is busy laughing, the bastard. “You said you were gonna be gone with your mom all weekend!”

“We got back a little early! I’m really, honestly, super sorry. I am. I didn’t wanna see that, either! I’m just as embarrassed as you are!”

“Not likely,” Sammy says from where he’s awkwardly half-sprawled in Jack’s lap on the couch, Jack’s shirt very clearly nowhere to be found. Ben, though Sammy hasn’t looked up since he initially heard the opening door and saw Ben jump backward, is still hanging in the doorway and trying desperately to cover his eyes. At least Sammy hopes he’s trying to cover his eyes.

“I’m going to my room, I’m sorry, my eyes are closed –”

“Oh, stop,” Jack says, because he’s a good person at heart and isn’t annoying and petulant like Sammy. “It’s not like we’re gonna finish what we were doing before you got home _now_ , with you in the next room. C’mon, we can just watch TV or –”

“I’m not sitting in the same room as Ben after _that_ ,” Sammy gives Jack a scandalized look. Jack’s expression is too soft and sympathetic, trading between Sammy and Ben. Sammy’s the only person who deserves sympathy right now. “I’m not sitting in the same room as Ben for a _week_.”

“Unfair, dude!” Ben says, voice coming from the kitchen. Sammy still doesn’t look up, but he does give Ben the finger on the off-chance he’s looking.

 “Hey, you know, the twelfth is on Friday,” Jack says with a musing expression on his face and Sammy gives him a distrustful look. “What if this time I got us a hotel room?”

“We should have a six-month anniversary every month,” Sammy tells him in all seriousness and Jack shakes his head fondly.

Ben laughs too, even though he clearly needs to be banned from laughing for three to five business days after causing Sammy that much emotional hardship in a single five-second timespan.

**7.**

“Jack, how much did these tickets cost? Seriously. The gifts are funny and cute, but you don’t need to be spending this kind of money –”

“Babe,” Jack interrupts Sammy with a laugh and a hand on his shoulder. “I got them from work, I’m gonna write an article about the show.’

“It’s an indie punk band,” Sammy squints at Jack. “And you don’t cover music anyway.”

“Yeah, but it’s your favorite band, so I volunteered as tribute! Besides, it’s not that much extra work.”

“ _Jack_.”

“Alright, it’s a little extra work, but what was I supposed to do? Seven-month anniversary gift is a concert, after all!” Jack’s smile is winning and crooked. Sammy doesn’t feel his resolve lasting much longer.

“You’re so full of shit,” Sammy says, and he knows that Jack can tell he’s won. Jack pulls him in close, squeezing the life out of him in a bear hug that Sammy sort of reciprocates. After a second. “I’m getting you a seven-month anniversary present too, and it’s gonna be one of those stupid Bigfoot Tours they do on the coast.”

“Really?” Jack beams, reaching up as they break apart to curl Sammy’s hair behind his ear. He looks so happy, thrumming with energy, and Sammy feels a sense of deep accomplishment. “I’d love that so much.”

“I know,” Sammy tells him. “Which is why I’m doing that. Get ready, I’m booking it.”

“No one’s ever really…” Jack trails off, a little sheepish. “You know. Taken my interests that seriously. Wanted to be a part of them.”

“ _Want_ is a strong word,” Sammy says and Jack’s smile fades a little and Sammy quickly backtracks. “You’re my boyfriend. What I want is to make you happy. And if you can buy me tickets for an emo rock band you don’t listen to, I can take you to go find Bigfoot, okay?”

“Okay,” Jack leans in to kiss him, a brief but joyful peck. “You’ll invite Ben too, right? He’ll be so sad if you don’t.”

“Ben is automatically invited to everything we do forever, that’s gonna be in my vows,” Sammy says it as a joke before realizing that that is _not_ the kind of joke you make with the guy you haven’t even been dating for a year.

Sammy’s face heats up in embarrassment, thinking Jack is going to cringe or turn away or change the subject quickly –

Jack’s face breaks into a beaming smile and he says “Yeah, obviously.”

And then Jack kisses him again, longer this time. A swooping sensation goes through Sammy’s stomach like he’s on a rollercoaster.

He bets Jack likes rollercoasters. Maybe next month he can suggest a theme park. Ben will have suggestions for that, Sammy’s sure.

**8.**

“Fuck, shit, how did it get so cold so fast this year?” Sammy shivers violently as he and Ben scrape ice from the windshield of Ben’s car. Well, Sammy scrapes. Ben is too small for scraping, he hovers on the other side of the car and swats at the ice occasionally with his hands. “It’s not supposed to snow this hard in November!”

“I don’t know, weather is freaky, man!” Ben’s teeth chatter as he dances from one foot to the other. “C’mon, hurry up, I want to get home!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, did _you_ want to scrape the windshield all by yourself?” Sammy shoots back at him, suppressing the urge to shiver. It’s snowing lightly now, but nothing compared to what it had been through their shift, when Ben’s car got coated with slush and ice. “I didn’t think so!”

Sammy curses, because even his arms aren’t quite long enough to scrape successfully, and his ears are burning with the cold. Ben finally calls “Alright, that’s enough! We can drive home like this, right?”

Sammy casts a distrustful look at the windshield, but he has gotten the worst of it. The rest of it should be aided by the defrost as they go along. And despite Sammy’s teasing about his feet not being able to reach the pedals, Ben’s a good driver.

“Be really careful,” Sammy warns, but he gets into the passenger’s seat nonetheless, mainly just so he can warm up and regain feeling in his fingers.

“I will, Dad,” Ben rolls his eyes as he fishes around in his pocket for his keys. Sammy closes his eyes and cracks back, prepared to let Ben handle the reset –

And then the car begins to sputter.

Sammy cracks open an eyelid as Ben goes “Fucking hell. Should I call Troy to come see what the problem is?”

Sammy sighs, the headache in his temples moving to his forehead with quick vengeance. He rubs a hand across his ear, which is still numb. The numbness had seeped into his jaw a long time ago.  

“I want to get home and go to sleep,” Sammy says, “not tow the car to a shop. We can come and get it tomorrow, okay? It’ll be fine sitting here overnight.”

“But –”

“I’ll call Troy to come pick us _up_ ,” Sammy says. “Wait, no – Jack had a late work thing, I’ll call him.”

Ben gives Sammy an affectionate look that he ignores as he digs his phone out of his jacket pocket – he really needs to pull out the winter coat if this is what November looks like – and go to his recent call history to click Jack’s name.

“Hey babe, what’s up?” Jack greets and Sammy knows that Ben was able to hear Jack through the phone if the _aww_ noise he makes is anything to go by.

“We’re in the station parking lot and Ben’s car won’t start,” Sammy says. “Save us, Obi Wan Kenobi, you’re our only hope.”

Jack giggles on the other end of the line Sammy feels a familiar rush of pride at making Jack laugh like that. “Yeah, yeah, alright. Only because it’s almost done snowing.”

“You’d abandon us otherwise?”

“No, I’d send Troy out after you instead. Unlike the three of us, Troy knows how cars work.”

 “Yeah, yeah,” Sammy says, knowing Jack would come and get them regardless. The thought pleases him. “How far away are you?”

“Ten minutes?” Jack says. “I’ll text you if there’s a problem with the roads, okay?”

“Sounds good,” Sammy says as he hangs up.

He purposefully doesn’t look at Ben, but that doesn’t stop Ben from saying in that insufferable voice of his, “You guys are _so_ cute.”

“Sure, Ben,” Sammy rolls his eyes, a clear mark that the conversation can end, but Ben keeps going.  

“Jack’s really reliable, you know,” Ben says and Sammy making a humming noise, sensing where Ben’s going with this. “Always does what he says he will. Always ready to help you with anything you need.”

“Your point being?”

“No point,” Ben says, which is a clear lie. “Just – he’s the best, you know?”

Sammy hesitates for a second before he says “I know”, and Ben grins in response.

Almost exactly ten minutes later, Jack pulls slowly into the station parking lot and Ben practically bounds out of the car, braving the few yards of cold to get into the backseat of Jack’s Subaru.

Sammy braces himself first, sighing miserably as the wind blows through his hair at far too high a velocity, before he pulls himself into Jack’s passenger seat. The door slams itself behind him, almost catching Sammy’s jacket.

“You made it?” Jack’s laughing, but there’s a bit of a concerned look in his eye.

“Barely,” Sammy says, “when you consider how badly my arms hurt since _someone_ kept making excuses not to scrape.”

“Dude, I _can’t_!”

Jack snorts as he puts his car in reverse, very careful as he gets out of the slick parking lot and onto the much clearer highway. “Don’t put that on Ben, Sammy. He’s small!”

“Average height,” Ben says a little sulkily from the backseat. “But Jack’s point is valid.”

Even though they all make joking conversation the whole way back to Sammy and Ben’s apartment, Jack has a look of mild concern on his face. Sammy isn’t really sure it’s justified, but it warms him up at least on the inside, knowing that Jack feels concern for his well-being.

“Stay over?” Sammy asks when Jack finally pulls into the parking lot and Jack nods, a slight smile on his face.

“I’m gonna watch Queer Eye if anyone wants to join me,” Ben chirps as he unbuckles his seatbelt.

“Just a sec, we’ll meet you inside, Ben,” Jack catches Sammy’s arm before he can open his door, and Ben nods as he gets out of the car.

“What?” Sammy asks, laughing, trying not to be nervous. There’s no reason to be.

“Thanks for calling me,” Jack says, a rueful smile on his face. “I – I mean, I didn’t exactly need privacy to tell you this or anything but – I’m glad you call me, when you need someone. That...that means a lot.”

“No one else I’d rather call,” Sammy says because it’s true, and Jack leans across the console to kiss him.

“Seriously though, you still look freezing,” Jack says as they break apart, the concerned look coming back full force. “Your ears are red.”

He touches one and Sammy tries not to wince.

“Does your jaw hurt?” Jack asks and Sammy nods.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll buy a hat one of these days,” Sammy says and Jack’s eyebrows raise.

“You don’t have a hat?” Jack’s almost scandalized, and Sammy has to laugh.

“I can borrow something from Ben until then,” Sammy says. “Or you, since it sounds like _you_ have a hat.”

“Of course I have a hat, it’s winter and I play sports in the park,” Jack says and Sammy groans, rolling his eyes.

“How could I forget?” Sammy teases.

“Don’t distract me,” Jack shakes his head. “I’m getting you a hat.”

“I can get myself a hat!”

“I don’t trust you to do it,” Jack says. “You’ll just say you’ll get around to it whenever I ask you about it, and then you won’t.”

Sammy sighs, mostly fondly. “You’ve got me all figured out, huh?”

“I’d like to think so,” Jack says and Sammy grins at him. “What if it’s your anniversary present this month? Then can I get you a hat?”

“I can hardly say no,” Sammy teases, but the warm feeling blooming in his chests continues even when he and Jack have to brave the cold to cross the parking lot and get to the apartment’s lobby.

Jack brings Sammy a hat two days later. It’s knit, striped yellow and green, and Sammy wears it every time he goes outside.

**9.**

“Let me fix your hair. It looks dumb.”

“You always think my hair looks dumb,” Sammy argues but he knows that Ben is going to win out in the end. He relaxes against the doorframe to their shared bathroom, and Ben gets on his toes to mess with Sammy’s part.

It doesn’t feel half-bad, so Sammy just closes his eyes and lets Ben do what he will. He opens them when Ben pulls away to see Ben falling back on his heels, looking up at Sammy with watery eyes.

“Don’t do this,” Sammy begs, but Ben just shakes his head, blinking rapidly.

“I’m just really proud of you,” Ben’s too choked up. When Ben starts crying, Sammy will start crying and the vicious circle won’t stop. “And really happy for you, too.”

“It’s not that big a deal,” Sammy tells him, even though the thumping in his chest says otherwise. “I mean, I’m in my thirties, most people my age have had a significant relationship or two before.”

“It _is_ a big deal,” Ben wipes at his eyes, sniffling. “You were closeted for so long, and even when you were out you never dated much – I’m just so happy that you finally found someone that makes you happy.”

Sammy hesitates, his initial instinct to brush Ben’s comments off getting lodged somewhere in his throat. “Thanks, Ben. I’m guessing you’ve already told Jack that this is the longest relationship I’ve ever been in, based on the fact that I’m going to a nice, dinner jacket-required restaurant tonight.”

“I just wanted him to know how important this anniversary is,” Ben says, his jaw sticking out a little, and Sammy shakes his head at Ben affectionately. “I knew he’d do something nice, because he _always_ does something nice, but I wanted this one to be extra special. For both of you.”

“When you get a serious girlfriend, I’m really gonna have to step up my game,” Sammy tells Ben, hiding a smile.

“You’re always great with whoever I date,” Ben says. “They usually like you better than me and I have to break the tragic news to them.”

“Har de har,” Sammy rolls his eyes. “Jack probably likes you better too, so –”

“No way,” Ben shakes his head, and Sammy can feel the seriousness seep into his previously joking tone. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, me and Jack are besties for sure. But like – he _loves_ you, Sammy.”

Sammy shifts from foot to foot, a deep blush settling in that he can’t help. “I – I mean – I don’t – he hasn’t –”

“Maybe he’s waiting for you to tell him,” Ben suggests, and leans up to brush a strand of Sammy’s hair back. “He might not want to scare you off.”

“It wouldn’t scare me,” Sammy argues. “I mean – it’s _Jack_.”

“So you’ll tell him?” Ben asks, expectant and hopeful. Sammy can’t help but nod, but he’d told Ben the truth. Odd as it was, the idea of telling Jack he loved him wasn’t scary. Nerve-wracking maybe, but not scary, because – because Sammy _knows,_ with complete certainty, that Jack would say it back.

Sammy leaves to go pick Jack up after only a few more waterworks displays on Ben’s part, and when he’s outside Jack’s apartment, Jack texts _hey, come up for a second._

Sammy doesn’t think anything is out of the ordinary until Jack opens his apartment door and Sammy can see that all of the lights are off.

“Um…” Sammy says, the excited gleam in Jack’s eye giving him away more so than anything else. He’s got on a nice black dinner jacket that shows off how nice his shoulders are, so Sammy’s mildly distracted by that.

“Hi,” Jack says, a little breathless, and his grin is bright and honestly kind of wonderful to look at, and Sammy smiles back because he can’t help it.

“What’s with the face?” Sammy asks. “And the lights?”

“Uh,” Jack’s cheeks turn pink. It’s more than a little endearing. “I’ve got a surprise?”

He holds his hand out, and Sammy takes it, squeezing as he says “You’re a sap.”

“You don’t know it is yet,” Jack says back, probably just to be argumentative, and Sammy rolls his eyes.

“I don’t need to know what it is to know you’re a sap,” Sammy tells him, but lets Jack pull him into the apartment nonetheless.

The lights are in fact off, but the room isn’t dark. There are little white candles strewn across Jack’s counter, lighting up the kitchen with a soft orange ambiance. Jack’s table, usually a scuffed-up, scratched thing from the Goodwill, has a white and black checkered tablecloth covering the marks. It’s set for two, with two dishes of what looks like really classily prepared pasta and chicken.

“Surprise?” Jack winces as he shrugs sheepishly, his blush less visible in the candlelight but Sammy knows it’s still there. “Sorry, I have no idea if this is romantic or just a weird cliché –”

Sammy doesn’t give him time to finish before he kisses Jack, and he can tell that Jack’s surprised, moving his head back before his mouth goes lax against Sammy’s, his hands wavering at Sammy’s waist.

Jack tries to break the kiss, but Sammy keeps their cheeks pressed together and breathes against Jack for a second, gathering his courage.

“I love you,” Sammy says, very quietly, against Jack’s lips. He can hear Jack suck in an astonished breath. A spike of doubt that Sammy knows he doesn’t need to have shoots down his spine, and he can’t help but say “I don’t expect you to say it back –”

“Sammy,” Jack cuts him off, soft and gentle, and leans in to kiss him again. “I love you.”

Jack wraps his arms around him in a tight hug that Sammy just melts into. They both end up laughing, helpless and amazed, Jack practically picking Sammy up off the ground.

“I’ve never said that to anyone before,” Sammy admits when he’s gotten Jack to put him down. “I’m sure you could’ve guessed that, or Ben told you.”

Jack nods, smiling a little sadly. “Yeah. He told me. That’s why I wanted to make tonight special. I was going to tell you anyway, after dinner, you just beat me to the punch. I’ll try not to be angry about that.”

Jack hides a smile behind his hand, and Sammy takes Jack’s hand in his own so that he can kiss him again.

“Well, speaking of dinner…” Sammy gestures at the table. “I don’t want to put your hard work to waste.”

“It’d be a shame,” Jack agrees, his lips twitching. “I’m not quite sure if it turned out right, so I better try it first – can’t be poisoning you on our anniversary.”

The food isn’t poisonous, it’s actually rather good, but Sammy definitely rushes through dinner since Jack’s bedroom is in fact just right next door. He wastes no time in pointing that out to Jack, who just laughs at him.

It’s not until later that night, when Jack’s lazily drawing circles on Sammy’s arms and chest, that he says with a quiet voice laced with ironic self-awareness, “if I tell you something, do you promise not to freak out?”

“Sure,” Sammy says, feeling a little too dreamy right now to worry when he usually would get a quick flash of anxiety at wondering about the possibilities of what Jack could say. Not right now, though – it’s Jack, Jack loves him.

“When Ben first told me that I needed to make this anniversary really special…” Jack’s face twists up in embarrassment. “The first thing I thought of was that I should ask you to marry me.”

Sammy stares at Jack, the words not quite hitting him. They’re nothing more than a dull, pleasant buzz in his chest.

“I dismissed it right away,” Jack justifies, reaching down to squeeze Sammy’s hand. “I mean – I love you, but it’s only been nine months and neither of us are in any way ready for that. And I didn’t want to scare you. But like – I’m telling you this just so you know that I’m…I’m _in this_. Completely. Always. Okay?”

 Sammy keeps staring, the pleasant buzz turning into a settled feeling in the pit of his stomach. He should be scared right now, terrified even, but he’s not. Not at all.

“Sammy?” Jack hesitates, biting his lip.

Sammy quickly realizes that Jack can’t realize his mind, and so he says “You should move in with me. Me and Ben. We can’t leave Ben. He’d say he understood, but he’d be so sad.”

Jack’s grin is blinding, but Sammy doesn’t get a chance to see it for long, since Jack’s kissing him again.

“I love you,” Jack says when they break apart. “My lease is up in five months, and I love you. Are you sure you don’t wanna ask Ben first?”

“Ben adores you,” Sammy tells Jack. “That’s how I knew, you know. I’ve had a laundry list of shitty boyfriends, and Ben’s hated every single one. He’s like a kid, or a dog.”

Jack laughs, crinkles appearing in the corners of his eyes that Sammy reaches out to smooth over. Jack leans into his hand, smiling soppily.

“He never hated me?” Jack asks, twisting his head to kiss Sammy’s palm. “Not even at first?”

“Loved you from Day One,” Sammy says. “And honestly? So have I."

Jack's smile goes soft around the edges, and Sammy leans in to kiss him.


End file.
